Coming to my Senses is….
Elly Wang!
Please contact me with your address so I can forward it to the publisher. 🙂
Thank you everyone for entering.
Monthly Archives: June 2013
Giveaway of Alyssa Harad’s COMING TO MY SENSES
In celebration of A. Harrad’s book, Coming to my Senses coming out in paperback, the publisher has offered to give one book to a lucky winner living in the US.
Leave a comment by June 25, when the official publication date is, and I will draw one name to enjoy the “aromatic memoir” as the publisher called it (I find that to be a quite good description). 🙂
I am leaving you with some of my favourite thoughts about the book:
“The great thing about this book is that if you are a perfume lover, it will make you smile and nod your head in agreement when you recognize the same steps you took in your perfume journey. It will also make you wonder what perfumes is Alyssa referencing by describing the way they smell.
It will also give useful advice on what to do and not to do if you are organizing your wedding.
But basically, it will confirm that enjoying your path in life with the people you love is the only way to live your life. Be it by smelling perfume and sharing it, or doing something else you enjoy.”
This one was mine.
“The best kind of book is one which you simply don’t want to end. Which, when you realise you havejust thirty pages to go – or less, if you have forgotten to factor in the acknowledgements – makes you start to slow down and savour every sentence, or even reread entire paragraphs to postpone the inevitable moment when you set the bookmark to one side and close the cover for the last time.”
“Perfume wears close to the psyche. This beautifully written book is a story of a life reclaimed, a maturity attained by making peace with femininity and with traditions of an earlier time. More than that,it’s a guide to bravery: enough to insist on a little glamour. Here’s how the beauty of the fragrance you’re wearing sinks in and becomes, well, you. Here’s how this little habit, which you might have once scoffed at, changes everything.”
“Alyssa Harad‘s book Coming to My Senses is a wonderful journey of self-discovery through the world of scent, and perfume in particular. Alyssa has a poetic, genuine way with words and that is how she describes perfume – striking a chord yet without ever exhausting the readers like most of us bloggers tend to do. And to my delight – the book is dotted with evocative perfume descriptions that rarely disclose the names of the perfumes she’s referring to.”
“What made the book a success for me, and what did keep me engaged, was the craft of it. I picture Harad as a spinner, each thread of her novel a delicate strand, interwoven and laced just so with another strand. It can’t have been easy to find exactly the right place in her personal narrative to add a bit of history, or chemistry, or discussion of gender in modern culture—but she did it.”
Please share the giveaway, it is truly a lovely book to read. 🙂
Zagreb is a linden city
I’ve been thinking about this for the last two weeks since the weather turned warm enough for all the blooms in the city to start releasing their scents.
I do wonder though how come I never realized it before – I grew up with a linden tree in our court yard and I know the smell. I just didn’t realize it before this year though how much linden trees there actually are in Zagreb.
The wonderful thing about the smell of linden is the fact that it can be both sultry and refreshing. I would
never have thought it, but the heat wave we’re having at the moment is making the smell of linden blossom permeate the air in a wonderfully sultry manner – the air is very humid and hot and the smell of linden flowers just fits with the idea I usually have reserved for tuberose (and some other white flowers).
But, if you climb some of the city hills and enter into a bit more fresh air, the smell of linden feels refreshing. Reminds me actually of having a glass of cool juice made of elder syrup (rather common here).
Basically, if you’re walking or driving an open vehicle, the city smells great.
It’s just a matter of where you are, whether you will be feeling languid, warm and saturated with the smell or a bit refreshed and lively.
Mr. Roucel rules!
I was away for the weekend, otherwise I would have written about it on Saturday ASAP. 🙂
It was great fun and I was a bit surprised to find myself nodding to many things Mr. Roucel discussed. I somehow thought perfumers were more than just real human beings one could have a fun conversation with.
It was supposed to be a talk on the subject of Noir perfumes but the discussion spontaneously moved on in  another direction and we got to hear Mr. Roucel give his opinion on many subjects.
He makes a lot of sense and sounds very down-to-earth and realistic in his thoughts on many different perfume subjects.
Some of the things he mentioned:
“Oud is fantastique!” – as he went on to explain it has so many different facets and is therefore a good material to work with.
“Perfume is about smelling good” – and not about sex (on the subject of how fashion perceives perfumes these days).
And he loves Suskind’s Parfum – thinks of it as a work of art actually, which makes me ashamed to admit I haven’t read it yet.
Anyway, I would say Mr. Roucel has a new fan club in Zagreb now (as evidenced below):
A quick photo session at Velvet
The chandelier getting in the way
One blurry photo with me
And before you all go thinking I had a chat with Maurice, it was just two sentences in which he asked what I was wearing, to which I happily replied L de Lolita Lempicka. 🙂 My little perfume company all wore Mr. Roucel’s creations in honour of his talk.
P.S. I made a video with my phone, some 20 minutes of the talk . I’m trying to make it available on request (it’s still in the process), I will not be posting it publicly though.
On being discrete. And Technique Indiscrete
I admit to feeling rather ashamed of myself yesterday. But I wasn’t the only one.
There was a happening at the street where I grew up, and still go often as my parents live there, meant to introduce people to the new stores and studios hidden in its inner courts (and some on the street too) – called Propuh (meaning draft, as in wind).
I walk down that street at least 3-4 times a week and I’m ashamed to say that I never knew there was a lovely little studio called Sapunomanija producing soaps.
It looks much better on the inside – this used to be a cookie factory quite long ago (long even before I was born).
But more importantly, there is a little Croatian design clothing studio called Roba where I never walked in, mostly because I am not a person who shops at designer stores (either Croatian or foreign, for the simple and practical reason of not being able to afford it).
In this case though, it seems I was mistaken. The clothes are more expensive than what I am used to buying usually, but still not too bad. What I am ashamed to admit to, as a perfumista, is that they carry the Technique Indiscrete line. And I’ve been walking by for two years without being aware of it.
It was rather busy yesterday everywhere we went so I gave the perfumes only a cursory sniff but I’ll be going back there for a better perusal of both perfume and clothes.
As I ended up buying my first designer item yesterday – after all, it WAS 50% off. 😉
Pics are mine – my neighbourhood I never noticed until yesterday. Seems I’m rather discrete when it comes to new discoveries.
Small doors in the middle of two buildings, seemingly going nowhere…
In front of the photo studio I wasn’t aware existed
Tuberose term, starting… Now!
Actually, it started this morning but still, today is the day.
Our spring weather has finally decided to stop channeling autumn and we are finally heading for summer warmth and that means TUBEROSE. 🙂
I am very happy that the weather has consented to allow me to happily wear my lovely white flowers and I started this day with Vamp a NY.
That was a very good choice.
Other tuberose choices I will be dealing with in days to come include: MdO Tubereuse, Guerlain Mahora, Noix de Tubereuse by Miller Harris, the HdP Tuberose trio (Virginale, Capricieuse and Animale), L’Artisan’s Nuit de Tubereuse, Le Labo’s Tuberose, Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia and possibly Fracas(and I’m including here Songes, Une Voix Noire, Wildwood flower by H&M and Cruel Gardenia as they fit with my ideal).
For special evenings, I will be choosing between my samples of Carnal Flower and Tubereuse Criminelle.
If you have any suggestions what other tuberoses should get into the rotation, I’m waiting eagerly to hear them.
I’m also always open to receiving some.
You know, like the Bolt of Lightning… 😉
Maurice Roucel speaking at Noir Festival Zagreb
If by any chance you are visiting Zagreb and/or are free this Friday evening (June 14), Maurice Roucel will be talking on the subject of noir perfumes at the Velvet cafe/gallery as part of the Noir Festival.
There are many other interesting topics being covered by the festival, but the perfume one is the one I will be attending. 🙂
Claudia Dain: Daring a Duke
I love historical romance but it seems to be very difficult for me to find new authors I might add to those I already love reading as you all know, no author produces books at the pace we, the readers, would like.
Therefore I am very happy that I can say I found a new one to add to those whose books I read as soon as they come out. In this case, I have a stash of already published books to go back to. 🙂
And before I go on with my review, I want to say that when it comes to romance, reading the blurb doesn’t help at all. You either read a great one and the book doesn’t even come close, or you read a bad one and never pick up the book which could have been by a new favourite author.
But enough of that.
Basically, I loved this one from the start. 🙂 Instantly, it brought back ideas of Austen’s romance novels, I am not sure why, I think it might be the easiness of story telling. I’m not sure but that was after reading the first page (later I learned that our hero’s name is Hugh Austen).
After that, it only got better. The women are true to their mischievous, not always nice to each other 
selves. But friendly at the heart. I wonder if this only makes sense to women. 😉 They also fight and get annoyed for real with their husbands (the real anger, even though it’s short-lived here, never actually appears in other historical romances I read).
We also get to hear a lot of inner female not voiced thoughts which I found chuckle-worthy. Actually, I found many things chuckle-worthy, I don’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book.
The best part for me, and you probably won’t believe it, was the fact that there are no steamy sex scenes in here. And I didn’t mind it one little bit. I believe in seduction happening through our minds and here it is a verbal (well and physical at some points, as in men fighting, not the other kind of physical) seduction going on through out the novel. Sparring on several fronts with wonderful dialogues.
Another interesting book is that the whole story is happening during a wedding breakfast.
Lately, I’ve been lamenting all the young female characters for their, well, stupidity. Jane on the other hand, although obviously young and naive to some ways, is still very much intelligent, smart and nice.
Edenham on the other hand, is what I consider a man should be – certain of what he wants and not scared to go after it (or give-up at first hurdle).
Both are easily likeable and fun to be around with.
If you enjoy historical romance, I urge you to give Claudia Dain Courtesan Chronicles a shot (ignore the covers).
I got my copy of the book in a give-away. I love how fate works in mysterious ways (especially when it suits me). 😉
Sam Cabot: Blood of the Lamb
“The Historian meets The Da Vinci Code in this exhilarating supernatural thriller set in Rome, where rival groups are searching for a document that holds a secret that could shatter the Catholic Church.
This document, dear friend, will shatter the Church…..
Reading these words in a letter in a dusty archive, Thomas Kelly is sceptical. The papers to which they refer have vanished, but Father Kelly, a Jesuit priest, doubts anything could ever have had that power—until the Vatican suddenly calls him to Rome to begin a desperate search for that very document.
Meanwhile, standing before a council of her people, Livia Pietro receives instructions: she must find a Jesuit priest recently arrived in Rome, and join his search for a document that contains a secret so shocking it has the power to destroy not only the Catholic Church, but Livia’s people as well.
As cryptic messages from the past throw Thomas and Livia into a treacherous world of art, religion, and conspiracy, they are pursued by those who would cross any line to obtain the document for themselves. Thomas and Livia must race to stop the chaos and destruction that the revelation of these secrets would create. Livia, though, has a secret of her own: She and her people are vampires.”
Well, calling vampired by another name just seems superfluous as it’s obvious from the beginning (I admit I haven’t read the blurb to the end so I was rolling my eyes waiting for the “v” word to appear).
Calling this book a mix between Da Vinci Code and The Historian is actually pretty accurate. It’s not as thrilling as Da Vinci Code but it’s not as boring as The Historian either.
I also seem to be becoming rather jaded when it comes to Church and Catholics (Christians in general 
actually). Honestly, the whole premise of Church being destroyed by the information about to be revealed is rather weak from my perspective, but then, I see Church as a human-led organization which basically means it’s liable to be as good/bad as humanity is. Which isn’t exactly an optimistic thought. But I would call it realistic.
Which also brings me to Father Kelly and his reaction and behaviour once he finds out Livia is a vampire. I mean, really?! As a well educated priest of the Catholic church, displaying such incredible prejudice seems a bit opposite from what the Catholic religion is all about.
He does get over it though, so I wasn’t upset with him all the time.
I might be over-reacting to all things connected to Catholicism at the moment as I’m rather upset it is being used here in a movement to get a definition into the Constitution saying marriage can only happen between a woman and a man. The whole movement is based on the religious beliefs of “true” Catholics trying to “save” the family notion. I am not sure from what though, because if they think their beliefs are based on the teachings of Christ, they are sorely mistaken. I find it rather ironic that I, who no longer consider myself Catholic, believe more into Christ’s words (I was raised as a Catholic after all) and try to live my life in a similar manner, than all these people going regularly to mass (and I’ll stop here not going into their hipocrisy).
My tolerance for narrow-minded religious beliefs is dwindling, if I have any left. And I am not really an atheist.
I apologize for hijacking this book review for my rant but it’s something I get very frustrated over. And over.
Back to the book – I enjoyed the fact that the Noantri (vampires) track one another by perfume. Well, they track Livia’s personal blend which gets her noticed and makes her trackable through the city. These vampires don’t fit the usual description though, which is why Bram Stoker wrote Dracula (he was one too) in order to misdirect humans into believing what vampires should be like. 😉 I think that is a brilliant idea.
I also enjoyed the ending a lot – didn’t see that coming. 🙂 Which is always a huge plus in any book I read.
Coming full circle
After several years of, well not actually scorning but not wearing for sure, fruity-florals, I am now back where I started from.
Well, not exactly where I started from but back where I actually enjoy the smell of such perfumes and enjoy wearing them.
It was the fact that all perfumes started smelling typical how I accidentally stumbled upon the perfume community. I don’t remember how it happened, I just remember it happening and after discovering this new perfume world, the fruity-florals lay forgotten by me in my pre-perfumista days.
I got a hint that things might be changing after discovering Aqua Fiorentina by Creed but I dismissed that as just a really good example of perfumes I no longer consider good.
As it happens, my scorn went and bit me in the, well, you know where.
it doesn’t mean I will be wearing solely fruity-florals from now on, it is just that I can enjoy wearing them again, along with the rest of the wonderful perfumes out there.
All I am - a redhead 